blogger

New Year’s Day is always an exciting day! It is a day that brings new adventures. It is a day that allows us to look forward to change. It is a day that opens the door to new goals and dreams. So as we ring in the new year, let’s give thanks for all of our blessings!

For my family, we say goodbye to a year full of wonderful memories & exciting changes, and we say hello to a new year that promises to be adventurous and joyous as we continue in our journey as a family of 5!

We are so excited to celebrate new beginnings… HELLO 2019!

Dear December 2018,

You were the best!!! Christmas time is always the best time, but now that we are a family of 5… Everything was better than ever! We filled the month with family holiday functions and made sure the girls knew the real reason for the season – Jesus – Love came down! From live nativities to Santa, we did it all and made so many wonderful memories along the way. The best part of the month had to be our first Christmas Vacation and it was one we will never forget. Getting away to cold weather and indulging in Christmas spirit made this Christmas season our best yet! And it was so much fun watching Kensie enjoy her first Christmas! Thank you December 2018 for a month we adored.

We are so excited for 2019 and a new January of family-fun!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – December 2018 ::

Dear November 2018,

What a great month!

You were a month filled with gratefulness, thankfulness, and the reminder of kindness. November, we filled you up with great moments and treasured times… Mainly Kensie’s first cross-country adventure and our hubby/wife trip to Washington D.C. DC was beyond words – FABULOUS! We also celebrated daddy’s birthday, Thanksgiving, our first girl-only STAYcation slumber party and Christmas came early this year with decorating the house and setting up the tree.

November you were good to us, but we are so excited for Christmas and the holiday month of December! Bring on Jesus’ BIRTHDAY!!!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – November 2018 ::

Dear October 2018,

You are always a month filled with PUMPKIN everything! This month we enjoyed the pumpkin patch, plenty of pumpkin spice, carving pumpkins, lots of candy corn, creative costumes, a fall festival and Kensie’s 1st Halloween!
Thank goodness the temperature has cooled down, it actually felt like fall for a few days this month with the added bonus of rain.
Soccer season has also kicked-in which is always a favorite around here, so we are excited for more sports-filled Saturdays.

But of course, November we are grateful for your arrival… Bring on the feast!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – October 2018 ::

Dear September 2018,

You were a great month! We went on a few day trips, and our first family of 5 camping trip! The happiest camper was ironically the baby! The girls have enjoyed their first quarter of school, learning new things and sharing in special moments! Payton especially loved riding in a fire truck!
Fall festivities have begun, including our favorite – football! September has also kicked off the fall season with a little pumpkin spice, and now let’s get a move on to October and cooler temps!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – September 2018 ::

Dear August 2018,

You were a busy month and truthfully, I am glad you are over…. only because we are now one month closer to cooler weather. I am ready for all things fall – football, cooler weather, pumpkin spice season… LET’S GO! Good bye August!

September, we are welcoming you with open arms!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – August 2018 ::

Dear July 2018,

WOW doesn’t even cover it, what a month! You were a month of FIRSTS and very special occasions. First day of first grade, first day of preschool, and Kensie’s first swim, staycation & Diamondbacks Game! We had a 6th birthday, baby girl turned 3 months old, and we made our first trip to the mountains as a family of five! It was definitely one of my favorite months for our family, mainly because we made the most of every moment. Yay for family time!

August, you have very large shoes to fill! We are excited to see where this new school year takes us!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – July 2018 ::

Our third little girl has joined the family our life has been nonstop ever since! Newborns love attention and want to be held and loved on ALL.THE.TIME. While this time is precious for me, it can be hard to do with two other kiddos running around the house. So my “to-do” list has become more of a “if I can get to it” list. One item on my list that kept getting pushed off was making Kensie’s birth announcements. We had beautiful pictures taken by the fabulous La Brisa Photography. The edited images were back in a jiffy and just waiting for me to make the announcement. In my mind, I thought it would be such a daunting, time consuming task. Which is ridiculous because with Shutterfly, it is such a quick, easy and painless creation! I should have made them sooner.

This post was in collaboration with Shutterfly. (#partner) I received some of these items in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. #MyShutterfly

Shutterfly is so easy to use and their quality and results are fabulous. I am a big fan! I was able to upload my beautiful newborn photos and create a photo card masterpiece in minutes. I was beyond thrilled with their card styles and options, that I actually found it hard to pick a favorite. I decided this time around to do something different and I created two cards to alleviate the pressure of choosing just one. I love that Shutterfly offers the opportunity to make each card your own, with the choice of card layouts, colors and fonts… It really is your own presonalized creation.

I made one card in a tri-fold/multi-sided style to give to my family members that want cuteness overload, and a more traditional 2-sided 6×8 photo card for our friends. Both birth announcements turned out fabulous and we couldn’t be more pleased!

Dear June 2018,

Yay for summer fun. We have spent the month enjoying church camps, BBQing with friends, going on memorable family dates and soaking up swim lessons. Sleeping in and later nights have also been a new adventure with kiddos, but hey, it’s what summer is all about. It was also a month of special celebrations; Father’s Day, Payton’s 1st Dance Recital and our 10 Year Wedding Anniversary (Congrats on 10 years babe!!!). We’ve spent more hours than we can count just snuggling with baby Kensie. How can she be 2 months old already!?

It is crazy to think that July already brings the adventure of a new school year… So in the mean time, we are going to cherish the next four weeks of non-scheduled and spontaneous summer family fun! Bring on July!

:: Our Month in 9 Squares – June 2018 ::

Dear May 2018,

May, Where did you go? Half of the month I spent thinking it was still April, blame it on the newborn sleep deprivation, haha! In all seriousness, it flew by. We spent the month watching our little babe eat and sleep her way through each day. Although we’re all sleep deprived, she has been the biggest blessing to our family – totally worth it! We also watched our oldest graduate up to first grade. How can kindergarten be over, que mom tears!

With June upon us, we’ll do as we always do this time of year… duck out of the AZ heat as much as possible. And of course making memories every second that we can! Gotta love summer vacation!